


Untitled 2020

by beazibo



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Confusion, Everyone Loves Yang Jeongin | I.N, F/M, Flirty Lee Minho | Lee Know, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, High School, Hwang Hyunjin is Whipped, Hwang Hyunjin-centric, M/M, Movie club, Protective Minho, The Author Regrets Nothing, changbin's gardening gloves, changbin's untitled, mixtape on track, story version, stray kids - Freeform, stream it on youtube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23788051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beazibo/pseuds/beazibo
Summary: Hyunjin and Minho, one of the most iconic duos in the whole school. Lately, another person was added into their little duo. Her name was Kim Harin. Bright as the sun, all smiles and sparkles in her eyes – part of the movie club the two best friends were in. Hyunjin knows all of Minho’s secrets. Minho knows all of Hyunjin's secrets.All except one. A secret that was gaining feelings for Kim Harin.-Based on the story within 'Mixtape: On Track' by Stray Kids!
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin & Yang Jeongin | I.N, Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Untitled 2020

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! quick notes before we jump into the story. 
> 
> one, yes, this story is based on their song 'on track' which was one of their most recent songs as of april 2020. since the mv told a story, i thought i'd do a narrated version of it, to show you guys (i hope? i think? i tried my best:D ) in a more in depth way of what the main character in the mv (hyunjin) felt.
> 
> two, since the girl character in the music video didn't have a mentioned name, i made one up so that i wont keep calling her 'the girl'. i hope you guys understand:D oh and the T rating it just for a few swear words in here so it's nothing much:D
> 
> anyways, i think that's all uwu. happy reading! <3

[]

_Even a fool knows_

_You’re the best thing I’ve got._

[]

Hyunjin and Minho, one of the most iconic duos in the whole school. Probably not the most handsome (that title goes to Seo Changbin, Jung Wooyoung and Choi Yeonjun), and probably not the smartest either (that one belongs to Choi Beomgyu, Yang Jeongin and Bang Chan from the senior grade) but they were definitely one of the most chaotic. In a sense that Hyunjin was the dramatic chaos and Minho is… the hidden beat-the-ending-boss-card kind of chaos – but still maintaining their cool image.

People would know as they arrive at the front gates of the school thanks to Hyunjin’s authentic laugh. It’s the same sight every day – Hyunjin reacting oh so over-exaggeratedly over a meme Minho found at 2 am that previous night.

Lately, another person was added into their little duo. Her name was Kim Harin. Bright as the sun, all smiles and sparkles in her eyes – part of the movie club the two best friends were in. She hadn’t been around for long, it was only since they were grouped with 6 other guys to work on a short movie project. But they clicked instantly, becoming closer almost immediately.

“Good morning..!” came her chirpy voice as she jumped in between the two friends. “How are you two doing this fine Tuesday morning?”

Hyunjin could honestly never get tired of Harin’s beautiful smile. So he gazed at her adoringly – did she use a different perfume today?

“We’re good, just showing Hyunjin this thing I found this morning,” Minho answered her, breaking the younger boy out of his dreamy trance.

“Have you gotten your breakfast?” he continued to ask, earning a small frown from Hyunjin but it was gone as quick as it came.

Harin nodded. “Yep!” she said, clutching the slings of her bag tighter as she walked alongside the boys with a small skip in her steps. “I had some toast from a stand on the way here. You know the one near the station?”

There’s this thing about Hyunjin and Minho. They’ve been friends for the longest time; their fathers have been the best of buddies back when they attended university. Naturally, the two were like brothers.

Hyunjin knows all of Minho’s secrets. That one time they were at a museum and an ancient bell broke, that was Minho’s doing. And that other time Hyunjin covered for Minho so he could go to a party back when they were in freshman year. 

Minho knows all of Hyunjin’s secrets. How he was the one who lost the class grasshopper in fifth grade. How Hyunjin accidentally caused the whole neighbourhood’s drainage system to break down from trying to flush down animal elastic bands because he thought they were creepy.

That is, nearly all of their secrets.

All except one.

A secret that was gaining feelings for Kim Harin.

[]

_It’s too late_

_The last train to you has stopped._

[]

Somewhat to his own satisfaction, Hyunjin liked the fact that he was the one closer to Harin due to the two being in the same class. They were also grouped together often for classwork, as their names both start with the same letter. Minho’s class was three doors down the hallway right by the stairs so it would be a hassle for him to come round often.

It was nearly home time, only half an hour to go. For the last period, the teacher had to attend a meeting which meant that class ended early. While everyone had already gone out of the classroom, Hyunjin and Harin were left – sat by the window, the boy on the seat in front of her, leaned against the wall, watched the afternoon sun and talked.

“Ah… I’m so done with today,” Harin leaned back on her chair, eyeing the workbook on her table.

Hyunjin, who had been twiddling around with his camera, glanced at the book. Then her hands, then her face. 

“What’s wrong, you got a great score!” he told her, nodding at the work shown on the pages. A big 92% was written in bright red ink marked the top right corner of her book.

The girl shook her head. “I don’t know… I just feel really worn out,” she yawned a little, “ugh. I really don’t want to do movie club today. You think I can get away with skipping?”

“What do you mean ‘skip’, we were going to have a last read-through of the script and the storyboard,” Hyunjin exclaimed, waving his camera in her face, “you’re the main character – it’s impossible for you to skip.”

Harin sighed. “You’re right.”

Harin was picked to play their short movie’s lead role along with Minho. Hyunjin wasn’t so sure about that at the beginning, especially since the storyline wasn’t something he was very fond of (a high school teen romance? Cliché, something everyone had done and absolutely mainstream. Zombies would be much cooler).

He especially disliked the fact that it required Harin and Minho to practice together sometimes. Reason being “getting the chemistry going”. 

_Pshh, nonsense._

Due to that, Harin had grown a lot closer to Minho. More than Hyunjin would’ve liked it. So he was pretty glad when Jeongin had to join them on practice rounds since the younger played the second lead.

Hyunjin averted his eyes from the camera on his lap to see Harin with her head down on the desk, head facing the window as she watched over the field sleepily. 

“Wake me up in half an hour,” she told him.

Before Hyunjin could answer, her eyes fluttered close and her breathing turned more slow and steady.

Sighing, Hyunjin spent the next thirty minutes watching the pretty girl taking her nap. She indeed looked tired, exhaustion painted on her face but it made her looked more amazing, like it shone under the sunlight.

Right, the sunlight.

The bright streak of gold hit her face in a sunshiny glow. Hyunjin glanced out the window and saw that the sun was positioned right in the middle of the window. A small smile made its way to his face.

There was hesitancy, of course, Hyunjin was always nervous when he was around Harin. But this time, he was slightly more confident and shielded her closed eyes with his hand. Even by just doing that, his heart raced incredibly fast. So fast he had to bite down an idiotic grin – he’s fallen hard.

Half an hour passed quickly. Hyunjin was left alone in the classroom after waking the girl up. She had to go down to the bathroom to change her clothes since they had movie club after. Why was Hyunjin still here? He was frozen in his seat, still recollecting what had happened earlier.

Harin had woken up with a slightly puffy face and asked him what time it was. Of course, it was only four. Movie club was to start in fifteen minutes, still plenty of time, right?

Apparently not for Harin.

“Oh my God, are my eyes swollen?” she took a quick glance at her phone reflection and groaned. “Sorry, Hyunjin, I need to dart off real quick. I can’t look like this in front of Minho.”

Hyunjin just smiled at her weakly.

He must have missed something. Harin wasn’t like this last week, or the week before, or the week before that.

When the time raced past four-fifteen and Harin didn’t return, Hyunjin sighed and thought she must have gone ahead. He sourly picked up his purple sweater from his locker and brought it over his head. With one last glance at the seat by the window, he walked out the room

[]

_Within my blurred vision_

_I can only see you clearly._

[]

“I really like this angle, don’t you think?”

Silence.

“W-w-why are you staring?”

Hyunjin heard Harin’s nervous laugh in the room. Through the little window on the door, he could see them both sitting side by side in front of a monitor. They had notebooks, papers and scripts scattered around the monitor. At a glance, it would look like they were in a deep discussion but Hyunjin has known better. He opened the door, standing at the entrance briefly.

Minho had been watching the girl intently; an endearing smile graced his lips as he watched her talk. Once Harin noticed that Minho had been staring at her, she nudged his arm, almost looking annoyed and let out the nervous laugh Hyunjin heard earlier. The boy at the doorway felt his breath hitch at his throat, seeing the spark of joy in her eyes.

They seemed to be enjoying their time together greatly. He had never seen Minho so smiley around someone before, let alone a girl. And Hyunjin frowned once he’s realised that Minho made the effort to look nice – a black leather jacket (he had gifted it for his birthday a couple of months back) over a plain white t-shirt. He had his lucky necklace on and he _never_ had them on before, even if it’s for a blind date.

The two didn’t seem to notice his presence by the door. So Hyunjin immediately wiped the frown on his face and sat down on the other side of Harin.

He couldn’t help but feel a sharp stinging pain when Harin and Minho both shot him a look. He felt like he was disturbing something, like he came in between them and ruined what they were doing.

“Hi,” he whispered. Why did he whisper? There was nothing to be whispered about. He felt slightly awkward, sitting down as their eyes followed his moves.

“Hey, Hyunjin,” the annoyed look on Minho’s face was gone. It relieved him a little, but he still felt a little uncomfortable when Harin only flashed him a small smile.

“We were just talking about which angles would look nice,” he continued, “I think you gave us great samples. These may as well get a pass for Jeongin’s scenes.”

Harin nodded in agreement. It made Hyunjin feel nice inside. He felt great for taking the time to do trial shoots with Jeongin the day before.

“Thanks, you guys,” Hyunjin replied gratefully, “I can do much better for your scenes though.”

“How so?”

Hyunjin had a split moment of doubt, he wasn’t sure if he was going to allow himself to say this out loud. But the expectant look from Harin told him to keep going. He took a deep breath.

“I personally think if I shoot Harin at this angle…” he pointed to a shot of Jeongin’s that he’d done previously, “it would be perfect. We’re going to shoot by the main entrance right? In the afternoon, the natural light is great there. We won’t need much manmade lighting, the sun is going to highlight her face perfectly.”

Of course he would know. He had spent many, many hours staring at the girl from the other side of the classroom. Hyunjin loved the way her skin looked when the sun hits her face from slightly behind. The shadows of her face brought out her prominent features even more, ethereal, and sun-kissed.

Hyunjin paused. “And you, Min, obviously. We all know you love taking golden hour pictures. You just never share them, I’ve seen them all in your camera roll.”

Harin let out a chortled laugh. She eyed Minho teasingly but he ignored it playfully.

“You guys would look great together,” now that one kind of hurt to say. Hyunjin swallowed a lump in his throat. “It’s going to be perfect, trust me.”

[]

_Please_

_Turn around and look at me._

[]

The next day after school, the movie club members had gathered in front of the school to start their shooting day.

There was Bang Chan (you know, that smart one from senior grade?) who was responsible for sounds. He was fiddling with his headphones, connecting them to the microphone on the boom pole. Seo Changbin (the handsome one) was the art director. He was getting the props ready, pulling a yellow glove on his hands to make sure the props he was using didn’t get dirty.

Han Jisung, he was the lighting director. That small body of his carrying a lighting kit and light reflectors all under one pair of arms. Felix Lee and Kim Seungmin were discussing with each other. Seungmin, as the scriptwriter, was telling Felix what was happening next and how they can improvise from the written text. Felix, the assistant director, he just nodded.

Yang Jeongin (one of the smartest ones, like Chan) was next to them both. As the second lead, he was placing his ideas and contribution to the discussion. The boy then wandered off, practising his lines on his own.

Everyone aside from the actors were wearing comfortable clothes. Hyunjin felt extremely comforted in his purple sweater, it somehow lessened the dread of the upcoming scenes to film.

Hyunjin sat on a bench, playing around with the settings on his camera to get the correct ISO for the shoot. To his disappointment, the day was a bit cloudy, so the sun wasn’t how he expected it to be and he had to work his way around it in order to make the clip look its best.

“You look kinda down,” Harin said, starting the conversation as she sat across him. “Is something wrong with your camera?”

Hyunjin looked at her through the top of his eyelashes. “No,” he told her, going back to his device, “the sun isn’t how I wanted it to be. Readjustments and such – it comes with shooting outside.”

The girl laughed melodiously. Hyunjin’s favourite sound, maybe like, ever.

“I almost had a heart attack,” she beamed at him, “I’m relieved your camera is okay.”

“Nah, it’s all good.”

It still bothered him a little, how Minho chose to sit next to Harin instead of next to him. Before Harin came into the picture, no matter who was sitting with them, Minho made sure to sit next to Hyunjin. It gave Hyunjin a sense of warmth and safety, he felt secure.

Now he wasn’t so sure. He wanted Minho to sit next to him – he didn’t like the way the older sat way too close to the girl, knees almost touching and the occasional glances. 

Yet, he felt awkward if he had to sit next to Minho. Like the air around them had changed, the distance between them had never been this wide. No doubt that the tension among them had risen.

Hyunjin didn’t know how this came to be and he wished, _hoped_ , so bad that it wasn’t because of Harin.

The younger boy felt a sense of relief when Jeongin finally took the seat next to him.

“My head is going to combust, there are so many lines to memorise!” he whined.

Harin pouted – they all did. Jeongin was the youngest out of the four and even though he wouldn’t like to admit, Jeongin acted like a baby most of the time.

“Don’t worry, Jeonginnie, this will be over we all know it,” Harin told him.

“But still! I’ve been trying to learn these since, like, five this morning and even through classes,” Jeongin sighed exasperatedly, “and okay I might have gotten too lazy… but there’s still a fair share.”

“Are you even trying by this point?” Hyunjin asked jokingly. He smiled triumphantly once he adjusted the ISO just right, testing it out by taking a small clip of the floor.

“No.”

Hyunjin chuckled. So did the other three.

They say when you’re interested in a person, the first person you look at when you find something funny is them. Hyunjin glanced at Harin, who was grinning at Minho, who was beaming back at her.

Jeongin didn’t miss it when Hyunjin’s eyes flashed a look of hurt.

“Hyunjin, is your camera ready?”

Felix’s voice tore Hyunjin’s gaze off from Harin.

“O-oh!” Hyunjin stood up immediately and dusted off his pants. “Yeah, yeah, of course!”

And maybe Hyunjin was a little over-confident when he said he’ll be the cameraman weeks prior. He didn’t think it would end up like this. From what it looked like back then, Jeongin was a strong candidate for the lead male role. That was the reason why he took it in the first place.

Hyunjin almost couldn’t take it when Felix wanted Minho and Harin to hold hands. And when they had been sending looks to each other, speaking in some secret language Hyunjin wasn’t allowed to understand. If he had to be honest, all he wanted to do was to get this over and done with so he could hurry up, go home, and huddle in the corner of his room while eating a cup of three-minute ramen.

“Okay, now, Hyunjin, this scene will be a running scene,” Felix explained to him, forcing him to revert his attention to the director. “Just, watch your step, okay? It won’t be far, I want you to stop running when you get to that rock over there.”

“Halfway through, I want you to focus the camera on their hands all the way until I say cut,” he continued, “don’t zoom in too much though, you should know.”

Hyunjin nodded and there was a rush as everybody got to their positions. Changbin made last-minute adjustments to his props, Jisung angled the lighting just a little bit more and Seungmin had a little re-run of everybody’s lines before Felix came in front of the camera with the slate.

Even though he tried his hardest, Hyunjin couldn’t seem to concentrate. There are many times, though, when Jeongin would trip and other times where Minho’s hand slipped. But it was now going to be the eighth time that Hyunjin would have to see them holding hands. That thought made his stomach churn a little.

The boy in the purple sweater lifted his camera, almost tiredly and focused the lenses on Minho and Harin in front of him. Jeongin stood right behind them and recited his lines over to himself.

Felix stood in front of the camera. “’Even a Fool Knows’, roll eight, scene eight, take eight and…” he clapped the slate, “… action!”

With a deep inhale, Hyunjin started to run alongside Minho and Harin, Jeongin followed closely behind. Ahead of him, Chan raced with his microphone, grimacing at the (what Hyunjin imagined) soreness that had been growing on his arms.

Hyunjin stopped running where Felix told him to and focused the camera to where their hands were intertwined. The more he stared at the screen on the camera, the more his heart twisted. He furrowed his brows – no showing emotions, please.

He watched them from where he stood, unsure of where his camera was filming now. But screw that, he couldn’t help but stare at them. Their hands especially… they were holding each other tightly. Hyunjin felt his heart ache once more – their smiles look way too genuine to be just acting. Way too real to be fake. His grip tightened on the handle of his camera, desperately wanting Felix to tell them it was over.

“CUT!”

A sigh of relief slipped out of Hyunjin’s lips, finally being able to drop his camera down. He took his attention away from Minho and Harin, who was still standing by each other in the distance, laughing amongst themselves. There were more scenes to film that day, yes, but he was glad this one was over.

[]

_Even though I barely follow your remaining footsteps_

_My mind is storming at every crossroad_

[]

Usually, Minho would spam his messages during lunchtime to go to the cafeteria together. However, for the past several days, he had not. For whatever reason, Hyunjin was puzzled. But he shook the negative thoughts in his head – they always meet in front of Hyunjin’s classroom though and for the while, that seemed to have worked well.

That day, Minho didn’t show up in front of his class. Weird.

Hyunjin remembered that Harin had gone out earlier for some school council meeting. Maybe she was hungry, why not get her something? He wondered what she liked… Hyunjin walked to the cafeteria deep in thought, debating on whether he should get her a tuna kimbap or chocolate milk.

After trying to call Minho’s phone one last time but was met with no success, Hyunjin frowned and tucked his phone into his pocket. Maybe he was busy? Yeah, Minho was a busy kid. Although… he knew that Jeongin would be in the movie club room. Why not pay him a visit?

Two coffee milk in hand and a joyous smile on his face, Hyunjin skipped down the stairs with light steps. Who knows, maybe he’d cross paths with Harin there. Even at just that thought, Hyunjin felt himself almost fly.

Harin would accept his milk, and then she’d ask if they could sit outside underneath the tree. Just the two of them. And they would talk endlessly until break time ended.

Hyunjin’s steps halted, however, as he met Minho at the bottom of the stairs. The boy was holding two cartons of strawberry milk. The two best friends froze, both staring at what each had got in their hands.

The gaze Minho had on him was so intense, so strong; Minho’s never looked at him in that way before. It wasn’t hate, or dislike or anything. It was more of confusion, judging by how his eyebrows quirked upwards and that scared Hyunjin even more.

“What have you got?” Minho asked.

“Coffee milk. You?”

“Strawberry milk.”

Hyunjin nibbled on his bottom lip. “Who’s the other one for?”

The name that Hyunjin half expected but still hoped wouldn’t hear came out of Minho’s mouth.

“Harin.”

Minho tilted his head. “Is that for Harin too?”

Nod.

The older one gave Hyunjin a small smile. It looked a little bit forced, Hyunjin could see it in his eyes but he knew Minho wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. Not that he’s conscious of, that is.

He knew that the distance between was undoubtedly growing. At least he got the idea of Minho trying to keep it together as much as he was. They’ve never discussed it. It just felt that way and both of them knew it without even saying.

And for that unspoken be knowing, Minho looped his arm around Hyunjin’s. “Come on, let’s give it to her. She told me she’ll be in the movie room.”

Of course, the movie room. Jeongin said he wanted to practice his lines with her, why didn’t he go there sooner?

The atmosphere turned awkward when both Hyunjin and Minho each let out their hands with their coffee and strawberry milk. Harin took them both – she didn’t want to cause any more tension than there already are.

“Thanks, both of you but you shouldn’t have…” Harin said. She eyed the two milk in her hands nervously.

Harin and Minho both sat at the table while Hyunjin and Jeongin sat on the bench next to it. Hyunjin felt Minho’s eyes going from Harin’s hands, then to his own hands, then to Hyunjin’s. There was a feeling of discomfort building up in Hyunjin’s stomach, as he watched Harin expectantly.

His best friend does the same thing, while Jeongin observed the three quietly, eyes squinted to try and decipher what each person was thinking. He fiddled with the jar of jelly beans on his lap. He blinked at his three older friends, cringing inwardly at the strange atmosphere blanketing them.

Slowly, he reached for the triangular chocolate milk in Hyunjin’s hands, not breaking his gaze on them.

“Wha- Jeongin,” Hyunjin mumbled.

The younger sipped on the drink, slowly, as three pairs of eyes rested on him. Hyunjin, especially, who internally had his jaw drop. Jeongin kept on sipping on the drink, not even bothering to turn once to face him until there was nothing left.

That was his drink! What was Jeongin thinking?

As he was busy cursing Jeongin in his head, a hand placed itself on his thigh. The sudden movement shocked Hyunjin by just a tiny bit. He snapped his head to the other side and saw Harin with her arm extended, his chocolate milk (that was meant to be for her) in her hand.

“Here you go, Jinnie, you can have it,” she offered.

The breath he inhaled was sharp, it almost hurt his throat. It felt as if someone was gripping his neck – he can’t do this. So he accepted the milk wordlessly and stood up to leave a confused Harin, a half-satisfied Minho and a pouting Jeongin behind.

[]

_If you go further away_

_I might fall apart by myself_

[]

The movie club decided it was a great idea to take a small break from filming for a little bit, to kind of have a breather before going back to finally shoot the ending scene. There was plenty of time, seen as Felix wanted to film it right before sunset. He claimed that the view from the floor was amazing, with back-up arguments from Changbin and Jisung, everyone had agreed.

Seungmin proposed a small game of soccer. The team split into two and Hyunjin was (somehow) glad Minho was on the opposing team. At least, he didn’t have to work together with him, it was too weird.

“Felix! Pass it on! Don’t hog the ball to yourself!” from the goalposts, Hyunjin saw Jisung scream from the other side of the field.

“I can’t! I don’t know where to kick!” Felix screamed back, panicking, “do something!”

Jisung was getting annoyed now, he was pulling on his hair as the two teams watched Felix struggle with the ball (well, passing the ball). But Chan quickly stole the ball from the younger, sprinting off toward his teammates with his signature grin.

“Come on, Felix!”

“Sorry!” he yelled, still a good five-metre distance from Jisung.

Hyunjin was ready to block Chan’s ball as it came hurtling towards him. But, as expected from the former soccer athlete, Chan scored with ease and did a victory dance in the middle of the field.

It looked dumb and weird, Hyunjin couldn’t help but laugh along with the others. Felix threw himself over the older student, whining about he should’ve taken it easier on him because after all, Hyunjin quoted: “we’re the Aussie bros, mate, you should be taking care of me!”

The others joined in the pile, Chan screamed out (Hyunjin couldn’t tell if he was screaming from the weight on his back or he was laughing to catch his breath) but the pile got higher and higher. Hyunjin jumped on him too, to add to the fun of course and they all laughed harder.

Soon enough, the tower of six boys toppled over when Seungmin kicked Changbin’s backside. It resulted in Changbin to leap into the air, screeching, and they ran, chasing one another, Changbin yelling out curse words at the younger.

That sight looked nice – he and Minho used to be like that. Now he can only look at him and smile a little.

The game started again, Felix now _actually_ getting the hang of not keeping the ball to himself (well that’s because he tried to intercept a pass from Changbin to Minho but tripped over his own shoelaces).

Hyunjin had forgotten about the girl sitting on the benches near them for a moment, and now he heard her cheers, calling for Minho. It made him bite his bottom lip – somewhere deep inside him, he told himself he can’t let Minho score.

Harin’s voice distracted him, however, and Hyunjin threw his body in the direction where Minho had kicked the ball.

“YES!” Changbin pumped his fist in the air in celebration.

But Changbin’s screams were nothing compared to the constant ringing of Harin’s voice as she cheered Minho on.

That made him forget about the pain on his side that he had fallen on. There was a scratch on his hand but the Hyunjin didn’t feel the sting. He was focused on Minho, who had jogged back to the centre of the field with a victorious smirk, gaze resting on Hyunjin for a second longer than the younger would’ve liked.

“Are you okay?”

Jeongin offered his hand for Hyunjin to take. He pulled him up, slightly concerned when the older didn’t get right back up like he always did.

“You spaced out,” he continued as Hyunjin stood up and brushed his side, wincing at the pain on his hand.

“Yeah,” Hyunjin mumbled.

“Your hand?”

“It’s fine, what’s a little sport without getting hurt?”

Jeongin followed Hyunjin’s gaze, arm over his shoulder. He was staring at Minho’s back – Jeongin bit the inside of his cheeks.

Not long after, the rest of the boys called the game over, saying they need a rest before they can continue on filming – which is pretty soon according to the clock. While the rest gathered in the middle circle of the pitch, Hyunjin made his way to Harin who was flicking through the gallery of his camera.

“Careful,” Hyunjin told her, “don’t be clumsy and delete anything.”

Harin rolled her eyes playfully. “Of course not, this is your art.”

Hyunjin felt something bloom inside of him as she said those words. It felt really nice – especially where he didn’t have to feel somewhat guilty as Minho wasn’t around. Self-guilt, more like, he felt as if right now at this moment, he could feel whatever he wanted.

The boy took a seat a couple of stairs higher and showed her his favourite shots.

“I like this one too,” Harin said, agreeing to his favourite pick. “You’re really talented at this, you know that?”

“Thanks,” Hyunjin laughed nervously.

“Come on, it’s true!” she exclaimed, “have you thought about taking film or something in university?”

“No, but now that you mentioned it…”

“I heard film is fun, I think you’d do great there.”

“You think?”

“Of course, you’re good at what you do, Hyunjin,” Harin told him, “at everything you do, actually.”

Oh God, if Harin continued to do this, Hyunjin swore he would die.

Hyunjin took the camera from her and showed her his favourite scene, which was something they filmed the day before. It wasn’t a scene of Minho and her (if it was, it would be kind of ironic, isn’t it?) but rather of Jeongin walking on the school grounds.

As he was about to switch to another clip, he spied another person approaching them from the corner of his eyes.

“Whatcha guys doing..?” Minho asked, “oh! Favourite scenes?”

The boy reached for the camera, took it away from Hyunjin and he blabbered to Harin about _his_ favourite clips.

All Hyunjin could do was smile in defeat. Of course Harin would pay more attention to Minho, he’s seen how she was the last couple of days. There was an ache somewhere in his stomach, his chest and he felt like he lost something that wasn’t even a game.

He only needed to hold on for a couple of hours longer. And then he could leave, go back home and at least try not to think about it? Hyunjin rolled up his own copy of the script and forced out a slightly sad smile when Minho locked eyes with him, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

[]

_You come to me every night_

_And tantalize me again_

[]

Felix gathered everyone on the roof by the time the clock struck a quarter to five. Everything was to be set up; the lighting that Jisung handled, Chan was focused on his audio equipment and Changbin who already had his gear up there since lunchtime was just sitting by the director’s chair.

Alongside Seungmin, Hyunjin had been adjusting the settings on his camera the way Felix wanted him to shoot with. So far, Hyunjin had been doing a pretty great job in getting the perfect shots despite the weird, twisting feeling at the pit of his stomach.

“Here, Min, try it out,” Hyunjin passed the camera to Seungmin after he himself had tried looking through it.

“You know I have no idea about these things,” Seungmin replied but took a peek nonetheless. The boy then nodded, “it’s fine, I guess. Ask Jeongin if you want _real_ opinions, I’m clueless.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes playfully but followed Seungmin’s suggestion. He sauntered over to Jeongin who had been practising his final lines with Felix earlier. When he got over, Felix was just finishing up before he took off somewhere else, probably to help the others.

“Jeonginnie!” Hyunjin fell in step next to Jeongin. He held out his camera, “what do you think? Do you think it’s good enough?”

“What? The camera?”

“Well, the settings in the camera,” the older of the two fiddled with the settings again, “it’s great but… I can’t seem to get it perfect.”

Jeongin sighed before patting his back, “don’t worry, I think you film great scenes every time.”

“Now you help me, Felix said I should come in a few moments after their ‘improvised bits’ or whatever,” he continued, “how do I know when they’re doing their improvised bit anyway? It’s not like it’s written in the script. What if I miss the timing?”

“There’s an improvised part?” Hyunjin found himself questioning.

“U-huh,” Jeongin nodded, “Felix said it would make it seem more natural. He said it’s an actor thing, they do it all the time apparently. Do you think I should add a little bit of my own improvised section since they’re doing it too?”

Jeongin, who had been re-reading the script in his hand didn’t realise Hyunjin was focused on something – or rather someone – else until he heard two familiar laughs. How could he not recognise who they belonged to?

The younger one debated on saying something to Hyunjin. The boy was obviously envious, the other two on the other side of the roof had been exceptionally close over the time they filmed and Jeongin figured that Hyunjin might, _might_ , like one of them.

So he also found himself staring at Minho and Harin who were busy discussing their improvisation (and he hoped that those laughter weren’t because of flirting. Jeongin couldn’t imagine what Hyunjin must have felt like). He glanced at Hyunjin and internally grimaced, he looked… like he was full of longing?

Jeongin couldn’t exactly tell what the older was thinking, but he could tell that whatever emotion Hyunjin felt wasn’t very good. He was very much concerned, he didn’t want his friend to hurt. 

Jeongin cared, maybe a little too much, but cared nonetheless.

“Hyunjin,” the said person snapped out of it at the nudge on his side.

“Come on,” Jeongin walked ahead, “we need to get ready.”

All Hyunjin could do, really, at that moment was sigh.

_Only this scene to go, Hyunjin come on, get a grip._

Everyone was in their focus zone now, Felix had just called Minho and Harin over to the spot and Hyunjin tried to focus his mind elsewhere. Anywhere if it meant that he couldn’t hear them laugh like they were sharing something only the two of them knew.

“Alrighty, Hyunjin,” Felix began once everyone was in their positions, “I want you to be right here…”

The boy in the marbled-purple sweater directed him into the right distance. “At first, I want a shot of them, like, from their chest up? Torso up? It’s up to you, whichever you think is best.”

He then flicked open the copy of the script in his hands and pointed to a line where Minho says: “can I tell you something?” to Harin’s character.

“After Minho says this line, I want you to step in slowly…” Felix guided Hyunjin to what he wanted to happen, his hands making a square-shape almost to imitate the camera, “zoom in on their hands. They’ll pause their lines there and I want you to focus on it until I say cut, okay?”

Hyunjin nodded.

“We’ll get this done and get the second part of this ending scene done, and after that we’re good!”

“Good, everyone standby!” Felix called out, grabbing the slate from his chair before jogging back to hold it in front of the camera.

Hyunjin lifted his hands, steadying it and looked through the screen. He pressed the record button and waited.

He hoped when the results came out, they wouldn’t notice his shaky hands.

Maybe he was too caught up in this mind to notice that Felix had clapped the board and yelled out “action!” before running off from the frame.

“Hey,” he heard Minho recite his line.

“Hi,” Harin said in reply.

Hyunjin eyed Minho through the camera screen and bit his lip. The way Minho looked at her, it seemed so soft, gentle and so genuine. It seemed so… real. His eyes were, as much as Hyunjin would like to convince himself it’s not, held so many emotions.

Ones he’s definitely seen before when Minho had his previous crushes.

“I need to tell you something.”

Hyunjin clenched his jaws.

The grip on his camera tightened, it was almost as if Hyunjin could read what Minho was thinking. It was like he was remembering everything about her, about the things they’ve done together… cherishing moments? Hyunjin didn’t know but Minho’s gaze on her made him feel sick.

He thought about his moments with Harin.

When Harin had approached Minho and him that one morning, saying she had toast from breakfast from the stand next to the train station. Her eyes were so beautiful, they shimmered under the sun and as Hyunjin found out, she _did_ wear a new perfume.

When he had bought Harin some milk for her during lunchtime, to find out that Minho obviously thought the same thing and bought a strawberry one instead. The way he remembered her hesitation, like she was uncomfortable. Hyunjin already kind of knew that maybe Harin liked Minho a teensy bit more (he’d like to think it’s because of their main roles in the short movie).

And when they were sitting by the stairs and Hyunjin showed her his favourite scene and they talked about how he should do film in uni someday. At that moment, Hyunjin felt like he was recognised… but it seemed that Harin recognised Minho more.

Or, his favourite memory of her. That day when she told him to wake her up in thirty minutes, the day they had movie club. He remembered the way his heart almost hammered out of his chest, debating on whether or not he should shield the sun from her eyes. Sure they had the curtains, but that was the only chance he could do something like that for her. It tickled his heartstrings just thinking about it.

So when Minho’s hand reached out for Harin’s, his heart moved his body.

 _Stop! Stop! Don’t do this!_ His consciousness told him.

But he couldn’t take it. It may be a simple gesture, but the way his heart constricted at it made him almost drop his camera. He wanted to run away. Especially for the upcoming “improvise” stunt.

Knowing Minho, he would do anything and just by the emotions in his eyes… Hyunjin definitely didn’t want any of that to happen.

While the camera was still rolling, Hyunjin grabbed Harin’s hand, stopping it from meeting Minho’s. He heard her let out a small gasp and it made his fingers curl around her wrist a little tighter. Everyone around him reacted the same way as her, Hyunjin wished he could tell the ground to swallow him whole.

“Hyunjin!” the voice belonging to Felix called him out, clearly appalled but it sounded distant. Like a passing wind.

_Fuck, why did I do this. Stupid heart._

Hyunjin froze as he could feel Minho’s eyes on him. He didn’t know what expression his friend had but by the way silence engulfed them all, Hyunjin could tell it wasn’t something very nice.

After seconds that felt like years to him, Hyunjin finally dared to lift his head up. Immediately, regret washed over him and all he wanted to do was cry, cry, and cry some more. His heart clenched, constricted him in the most painful way possible.

That’s when he realised, the weird feeling at the pit of his stomach - he didn’t know if he was jealous of Minho or… if he was jealous of _Harin_.

Throughout their years of friendship, Minho had never looked at Hyunjin the way he was glaring at him then. And so, Hyunjin bit his bottom lip, so hard he swore he could almost taste blood.

[]

_Even a fool knows this_

_You're the best thing I've got_

_Once again towards you_

_One more step, I will never stop_

_I will always be on track_

[]

**Author's Note:**

> hehehehe i hope everyone enjoyed the story skjfdssjf i tried to potray hyunjin's feelings to the best i can and i hope it got across? i guess? this was a lot of fun to write, since the ending was a little open-ended, i had a little bit of freedom as to what i think hyunjin felt. i think i did good? tell me what you guys think uwu.  
> thank you for reading this hehehet!


End file.
